


Everlasting

by Tarlan



Category: The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (1984)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-03
Updated: 2014-10-03
Packaged: 2018-02-19 17:30:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2396804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian had always had fleeting dreams of a past life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everlasting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DichotomyStudios](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DichotomyStudios/gifts).



> Written for: **michaelbiehn** \- September 2014 Character Month

Sebastian had suffered from the fleeting dreams for as long as he could recall. They had guided him into taking up archery, and he'd discovered he was a natural talent. He had already proved his worth in the national competitions and expected to be called up to serve his country in the upcoming Olympic Games.

Recently, however, the dreams were getting stronger, with flashes of places that he had never been and faces he could not recall ever meeting. Of course he knew it might all just be in his subconscious - memories of faces from childhood or picked out at random in a crowd, and places seen on the television in documentaries or movies. He knew his mind might simply be playing tricks on him due to the stress of college and the upcoming trials for a place on the Olympic Team.

Today was different though. The dreams had always come in his sleep but this time he knew he was wide awake, standing on the running track inside the stadium. Around him were other archers focused on the target set a fair distance away, yet it all faded away. The field turned from verdant green grass to sand and spiny shrubs; the modern seating turning to stone worn down by several thousand years of weathering. He closed his eyes, opening them moments later, and it had all disappeared and he was back in the stadium. Behind him the other archers were already putting away their bows and heading off, having finished practicing.

Laughing softly at himself, he picked up his bow, adjusting the tension and balance, placing an arrow and drawing it back to kiss his lips.

The vision shocked him this time, filling his sight and mind, and he let fly the arrow with a cry.

In his vision it flew true to its target to the applause and admiration of his fellow archers - and the Emperor. His vision moved onwards, spiraling through fear and confusion, to certainty and a different type of passion than the one the Emperor wanted from him.

"Hey son! Are you all right?"

Sebastian registered the hand gently shaking his shoulder, snapping back to find he was on his knees at the center of the field rather than amid sand dunes that stretched for miles in all directions. The vision had been so strong this time, almost like a memory playing back. He patted his chest, neck and thigh but could feel no pain from the penetration of arrows even though the memory of being tied to a tree and executed by his own unwilling men still held tight. In the desert he had seen a bearded man whom he was so certain was Jesus, but the man standing before him now looked nothing like him.

"Look, son, it's getting late and I need to close up the stadium for the night." He frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Sebastian nodded and cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm... fine. Really," but he accepted the man's hand in gaining his feet.

The man followed him back to where Sebastian's bow was lying on the running track and Sebastian took a moment to check it over for any damage, noticing a few scratches from where it had been dropped but, fortunately, nothing else. He packed it all away carefully and made his way out, feeling strangely lightheaded and... free.

Any rational man would put it all down to stress and too much television, but Sebastian knew deep in his bones that it had been a memory, a flashback to a previous life and a promise made and kept to a young archer who dared to have faith and was willing to die for his beliefs - everlasting life.

He never had the visions again.

END

Click on image for wallpaper size

[](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/tarlanx/6659521/603204/603204_original.jpg)


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